The first 10 lbs

So I've held off writing about this for quite awhile.  Once you put it out there for people to see and know you can't take it back.  Because even though it is pretty obvious to anyone who looks at me that I need to lose some weight, admitting that I'm actually working on it is a little scary.  However, I have officially lost my first 10 lbs and I finally feel motivated to keep doing what I'm doing. So here I go, putting it out there for the whole world to know.  Or at least the 5 of you who read this blog!

I've struggled with my weight for a long time.  I don't ever remember not being self-conscious about it.  Even as a young girl I remember thinking that I weighed too much.  Looking back at pictures of myself I realize that I wasn't overweight, I just had a different body type than what I thought I was supposed to.  I was a little heavier than I should have been in highschool, but not by a lot. 

Fast forward through 20 lbs gained during the first year of marriage and 20 lbs gained for each child and that is where I am at right now.  Between babies #2 and #3 I joined Weight Watchers and lost 50 pounds.  And then I got pregnant again, gained it all back plus a little, and could never get motivated to lose the weight again. 

After we moved in September I tried jumping back in to Weight Watchers.  I knew it had worked for me before, but I could not get into it enough to stick with it.  I'm not a fan of drinking shakes instead of meals, that's not something I can or will keep up long term.  And I definitely am not going to start taking any miracle pills, as tempting as the thought of fast weight loss is.  I'm smart enough to know that doesn't work in the long term. 

What got me motivated this time was reading something my sister put on Facebook about how she decided one day she needed to lose some weight so she cut back on what she was eating and lost 50 pounds.  Now, I was not oblivious to her weight loss, but I had no idea she had lost that much.  When I saw that I was inspired to try it myself.  No, no--really.  I was inspired.  It had nothing to do with the fact that I am her older sister and thought to myself, "Well if she can do it I can certainly do it!" Nothing like that!

However the motivation hit me, it hit.  So I started really paying attention to when I was full.  I left food on my plate, even when it was really good and I wanted more.  I quit eating whatever I wanted because I could.  I quit snacking at night.  If I wanted something sweet, which is my worst weakness, I ate just a few bites of something.  All those little things started adding up and now I have lost my first 10 pounds.  And I am excited! 

I think anyone who has had to lose weight knows that when you finally make the decision to lose weight you do whatever you need to do to get it done.  I did when I lost those 50 pounds the first time.  And that motivation has come and gone off and on since then.  But now I feel it back in full force.  I remember how it feels to know that I can lose the weight.  I remember how good it feels to step on the scale and see the numbers going down.  When I am tempted to overeat or to eat more sweets I can tell myself no easier because I know that losing the weight will feel better than anything I put in my mouth. 

I've read a few things that say that losing the first 10 pounds is always the hardest.  I had to laugh when I read that because when I'm looking at losing 100, the first 10 seems like a drop in the bucket.  But then I realized that 10 out of 100 is 10 percent (yeah, I'm teaching fractions and percents right now).  For whatever reason, 10% sounds a lot better than just saying 10 pounds.  I'm a couponer--10% off is a fairly decent deal!  So--here's to my first 10%.  I'll keep you updated as my percent gets higher and higher!

Baby Girl #4 turns 3!

Age 2

Age 3

Baby Girl #4 turned 3 this last Friday.  She actually got to string the celebration out over a couple of days since Daddy was out of town for 3 days.  Good thing she is 3 and has no concept of when  her birthday actually is or that she could have milked it more than she did!  As it was she was just glad to be able to go out to dinner Friday night with Mommy and her sisters and open a couple of gifts.  Saturday we waited until Daddy got home and then had cake and opened the rest of her gifts.  I was reminded once again that it was just as exciting for her to get a sleeve of stickers as it was for her to get her brand new tricycle.  Everything is so simple and black and white when you're 3!  And I love that.  It's possible that by this time next year she won't be as excited about the stickers, so I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts! 

Stickers!

Not crazy about the sombrero!

She really was happy!

No Peeking!

Big girls lift the whole cake up!

 This last year has seen a lot of changes for #4.  We moved towards the end of the year which meant learning to adjust to a new home, new faces at church, and trying to understand where her friends where that she used to see all the time.  She has adapted very well to these changes. 

So well in fact, that she is now going to sleep in her bed without Hubby or I having to sit in the room with her.  We've been trying to break her of that for at least a year and a half.  Did I mention that she is the youngest of four and one of the most stubborn children I know?  But she has apparently decided that now it is OK to just lay in there with her big sister to go to sleep instead of having to have Mommy or Daddy.  I am extremely happy about this! 

About a week before she decided to go to sleep on her own she also started sleeping all night in her own bed.  Around the time she turned 2 and started coming in and getting in bed with us without either of us noticing, we stopped trying to put her back in her own bed multiple times each night.  As a result, each night between 1 and 3 a.m. she would come in, tap one of us on the arm and then fall right back to sleep when we stuck her between us.  Neither Hubby or I were crazy about this, but neither of us was willing to actually get out of bed and sit with her for 30 minutes while she went back to sleep in her own bed, so we dealt with it.  I have no idea why she started staying in her room all night.  It just kind of happened all of a sudden.  My sleep and my back pain have both improved dramatically as a result!

One more big thing is that #4 is completely potty trained!  She has gone several weeks without a single accident and is very proud to be wearing her big girl panties all the time.  Once again, it was like a switch just turned on in her head and she decided that she wanted to go in the potty.  She stopped having accidents after just a couple of days.  This aspect of her personality is something I'm going to have to remember when she starts school!

So I'm breathing a small sigh of relief with her turning 3.  This last year as been one where she has tested her limits and pushed her boundaries.  But as much as she has frustrated us, she is also full of joy.  She has a smile that lights up a room and a laugh that is absolutely contagious.  She gives the best hugs and kisses you'll ever get.  She loves to play with her sisters, usually without fussing at them, but she also plays really well on her own.  She walks a fine line between wanting to be grown up like her sisters and wanting to be a little girl cuddling with her Daddy.  I love each new stage that she comes to and watching her go flying by it and on to the next one.  If this next year is anything like the last year, it's going to be a blast!

Pretend Play

Eating lunch afterward

This past Monday we went on a field trip with one of the homeschool groups I have joined.  I honestly didn't do any research on the place that we were supposed to be going, other than to see that it was within 10 miles of our house.  There has not been anywhere close to the same number of field trips available that we were used to before we moved.  Each homeschool group is different, and the biggest one we joined has actually only had field trips geared towards Kindergarteners.  Luckily, as with most homeschool groups, siblings of all ages are welcome to come to any field trips.  Normally I'm pretty picky about what field trips we go on because even though they technically count as a school day, we get no actual school work done on those days.  So I'm not wanting to have a field trip every week.  But because we still don't really know anything to do in this area and haven't had a chance to get to know any homeschooling families I want to go on as many group trips as possible to get to know some other families.  Which is why I didn't really care where we were going for this particular trip. 


Turns out that where we were going was called Pretend Play--and it was awesome!  I've seen places like this before, but we haven't been to one since #3 was a baby.  It is just a spot in a strip mall, but inside they have made several "pretend" stations.  This one happened to have

a baby/house area,

 a vet clinic,

a dress-up area,

a firehouse, a dirt/construction area,

 a train station, a stage and costumes, a castle with a slide, an entire table of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, a glow in the dark space station, a craft room,

a puppet show,

 a reading nook, a kitchen, a restaurant and a grocery store. 

And my girls loved all of it!  They even had an area for babies under 2 that I let #4 go in for a few minutes when she was getting overwhelmed from too many people. 

It really was one of the best places like this I've seen.  #1 and #2 didn't enjoy it quite as much as the little girls just because there wasn't really anyone else their age there, but they kept good attitudes about it and found enough stuff to keep themselves occupied. 

Overall, it was a great couple of hours for the girls, we met a few new families, and best of all, I got information for another homeschooling group that I've already contacted and signed up for another field trip to go strawberry picking with.  This makes my third group.  I will eventually find one that fits our family!

Finally got to use my birthday present

My birthday is exactly two weeks after Christmas.  Now that I have children that usually means that after we purchase Christmas gifts and gifts for Baby Girl #3 whose birthday is actually only 8 days after Christmas, that there is usually not a lot left to purchase gifts for me.  Hubby does his best to make sure that I get something, but it's a little hard when there is no money.

This year Hubby asked what I wanted for my birthday at the beginning of December.  At that time I was going a little stir crazy.  Usually I'm OK being home all day every day with the girls, but every so often I have had enough and I really need a break just to myself.  When he asked happened to be one of those times.  So when he asked what I wanted all I could think of was having a day to myself and a little bit of spending money to spend on whatever I wanted.  And that is exactly what I got!  Actually, he also got me a Groupon for a one hour massage, but I don't get to use that until the first part of April. 

The money has been sitting on my headboard since the first part of January, but with my sister's wedding at the beginning of March we were pretty busy and I didn't have a chance to have my day.  But now that that is behind us I finally got to go.  I did a whole lot of nothing.  I had a coupon burning in my pocket so I went shoe shopping and found a couple pairs of shoes for $25 total.  The only thing better than buying new shoes is buying new shoes and getting a great deal!  I also went to a couple of movies, browsed Hobby Lobby and sat in the shade and read a book.  I got home after the girls were in bed.  The house was clean and I had no jobs waiting for me to do. 

I enjoyed the time to myself.  Even though the cabin fever had passed, I still enjoyed shopping on my own and having no one asking me a million question for several hours.  And to be perfectly honest, I enjoyed not having to share my candy and popcorn at the movies!  But at the end of the day I wondered if I would ever request this gift of a day to myself again.  I enjoy being around other people too much.  While the peace and quiet was nice, I don't think I need it that often.  Time without kids, sure.  But I would rather spend time with Hubby or friends than be by myself. 

I am very thankful for the time I got to spend by myself.  I do feel recharged.  But I think that the next time I'm asked what I want for my birthday I'll pick something else.  Like Sees chocolate--just in case you were wondering!

If you would just tell me...

My Hubby is very good about eating whatever I make and never complaining about it.  I have watched some husbands who snarl their noses at what their wives put in front of them or just flat out refuse to eat it and I'm shocked every time.  Especially when most of those husbands don't even think about helping in the kitchen.  I think it is incredibly disrespectful for anyone, man, woman or child, to complain about food that other people have made for them.  My own children aren't even allowed to make comments about the food I make unless I ask them for their feedback, and even then they are to be respectful if they tell me they don't like it.  And heaven help them if they complain about something someone else makes for us.

OK, sorry for the soapbox, it's one of my pet peeves.  Anyway, the only time I actually remember Hubby not wanting to eat something I made was about 2 months ago when I made something that had sweet potatoes in it.  He had pushed them all over to the side and when I saw them in his bowl I raised my eyebrows and asked if he really wasn't going to eat them.  He rolled his eyes at me and proceeded to eat them all.  After which he tells me that he HATES sweet potatoes.  Not just doesn't like them, but that thinking about eating them actually makes  him kind of sick to his stomach.  I was beyond shocked.  After being married to this man for 12 years I had no idea he felt like this about sweet potatoes.  If I had known I wouldn't have cooked with them and I certainly wouldn't have questioned why he wasn't eating them.  I asked if there were any other food preferences I should know about.  He says no, but I have to wonder what else he hasn't told me.

OK, stick with me, that was just the intro to the story.  A few months ago I found a recipe on Pinterest for sourdough bread.  I enjoy making bread and rolls, especially since it is much cheaper than buying them, so I figured I would give it a go.  Well first of all, it is a pretty involved recipe.  And by involved I mean that I had to read it several times just to understand what it was that I was supposed to do.  Sourdough bread evidently involves a starter.  Some of you may know what I'm talking about.  I had no idea what it was or what I was supposed to do with it.  I finally figured it out and made the starter.

 This is from the blog where I got the recipe

So after two weeks of getting the starter going I made my first two loaves.  They weren't that impressive.  I figured out I let them rise too long.  The thing with a starter is, once you have one you just keep it in the fridge until you make more.  So I tried again a couple of weeks later and the loaves turned out pretty good.  However, I decided that since it actually takes 2 days to allow the loaves to sit and rise the way they are supposed to, and I have a hard time remembering to get them started the day before I need them, that I was going to just dump the starter and forget about sourdough bread. 

I pulled the bowl out at lunch to dump it and told Hubby what I was going to do.  He was like, "Well, OK.  If that's what you want to do."  But it was said in that "I guess that's OK, but I really don't want you to" voice.  Turns out he really likes the sourdough bread.  He told me I should know that because he's told me both times he ate it how good it was.  Apparently I'm too used to him complimenting me on my cooking.  He said I could go ahead and dump the starter if I really didn't want to mess with it anymore.  The thing is, when I know Hubby or my girls really like something, I like to make it for them.  I find satisfaction in cooking and baking things my family enjoys.  All I'm asking is for them to tell me when they like or dislike something.  Because I am apparently terrible on picking up the hints!

Date night--in the afternoon

Today Hubby and I were able to go on a date.  It's a bigger deal than you might think!  Not having any family around to watch our kids for free means we rarely get to go out by ourselves.

Love him!

  Before we moved we had a date night co-op going on with two other families.  One set of parents would watch all the children while the other two sets of parents went out for about 4 hours.  It would switch every month so that each set of parents was able to go out 2 out of the 3 months.  I was so thankful for that.  Out of the three couples, none of us had parents or grandparents anywhere close.  So anytime we wanted to go out we ended up paying more for a sitter than we spent on ourselves for the date.  So this co-op was a real blessing for us.

When we moved I assumed that it would take a while to find other families that we could do this with.  Not only does it take time to meet new families, but there is also finding people that we would trust our children with for four hours.  Luckily, one of the families at church wanted to do it with us.  We thought maybe another family would want to, but I ended up feeling like I was pressuring the Mom into doing it, so I dropped it.  Not that I blame her--she has two girls.  When it was their turn to watch all the kids they would get an extra 7 girls dumped on them.  Not the fairest trade off!  And doing it with just one other family, we decided that we would like to actually go out once a month.  So on two different weekends we trade kids and each of us get to go out each month.  I'm very excited!

I know you're desperately wondering what we did during our few hours to ourselves.  We went to Whole Foods!  No kidding!  I mean, we also used a gift card to go to PF Changs, my most favorite restaurant ever.  Then we went to Whole Foods, just to look around.  We had never been in before and figured going without kids first would probably be a good idea.  Cool store.  After spending $5 on powdered sugar and $7 for some cut fruit (that was amazing by the way) I decided that we could start shopping there if we didn't have to pay rent.  So we are now actively looking for an empty house to squat in.  I hear you can do that now.  We also stopped by Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.  Not exactly Sees Candy, but it'll do.  We got chocolate to go and then went to a book store, splurged and actually bought ourselves new books.  Then we sat outside with a coffee and our chocolate and read for a few minutes.  It would have been longer, but our friends watching the girls texted and said that our neighbor had come over and was acting a little weird, asking for Hubby.  Turns out she needed a little counseling.  I blame Hubby's skills in that department for our date being cut short.  Luckily it was only by about 30 minutes!

This is how we're most likely to act when no one else is watching

Overall, it was just a low key, somewhat cheap date.  But I'm so excited that we get to do this every month.  Time spent with him is the best way to spend a day!

Baby Girl #3 can ride!

A few weeks ago Baby Girl #3 told us that she was ready to ride her bike without training wheels on.  One of her big gifts for Christmas was getting a new bike.  Unfortunately for her, Momma bought one online thinking I knew the right size she needed.  Turns out the one we got was too small.  I was all for taking it back and exchanging it, but because I had gotten such a good deal when I ordered her first one, we couldn't get another one for her without paying another $50.  Which is quite a bit of money right after Christmas and two birthdays.  So we told her we would hold off until she couldn't ride the little one at all anymore and then we would upgrade. 

I figured she would be using her training wheels for a while.  I don't remember exactly how old #1 and #2 were when we took their training wheels off, but I remember it took them a long time to learn without them.  So when the older two came in and asked if they could take the training wheels off and teach #3 themselves, Hubby and I said yes, smirking to each other, confident that they would be in 5 minutes later disappointed that they weren't able to teach her.

Well, they were in 5 minutes later, but it wasn't in defeat.  They proudly exclaimed that #3 could ride her bike all by herself without training wheels.  Hubby and I were pretty skeptical, but sure enough, when we went out there and watched, #3 got on and got started and took off without any assistance.  I'm pretty sure my jaw was hanging open.  I don't know if she caught on so much quicker because she's been riding more than her sisters got a chance to at our other house or if she is just majorly talented.  Either way, her Daddy and I were suitably impressed.  And also impressed with her older sisters who taught her. 

One other moment of pride in that moment was when Hubby asked how they had gotten the training wheels off in the first place.  I'm sure no other parent has ever done this, but when #1 asked if she could take the training wheels off, Hubby and I were in the middle of a conversation and just said yes without really listening to the question.  So when Hubby asked #1 how she got the wheels off he was very proud when she told him that she got a wrench and figured out how to use it to take the wheels off.  I was even impressed with that. That feeling lasted about 10 seconds.  Because when Hubby asked #1 what kind of wrench it was she replied, "Shiny."  I guess you can't take all the girlishness out at once!